Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Behind the Northwest Horse Forum

At the newly minted Washington State Horse Park, the horses were greatly outnumbered by people. Since it is only people who post online, that’s the constituency that Joan Deutsch was hoping to reach with her booth for the Northwest Horse Forum. The forum recently celebrated its first birthday (September 23rd) and it seemed like an opportune time to learn more about the woman behind it.

A few years ago, the media world’s hot phrase was community building -– a concept that gave rise to My Seattle Pets at the Seattle PI where this blog is hosted. The Seattle Times took a different tack and created forums –but as you all know community, doesn’t work without real people who invest time and passion in their neighborhood – real world or online.

Joan Deutsch is the long-time local news editor at the Seattle Times as well as a horse owner. She’s worked there eighteen years, “suggesting horse stories and having a low success rate,” she said dryly. The Seattle Times does cover racing and some occasional horse stories, but let’s face it, unless there is a crime, an accident or a lot of money involved, it’s not news outside the equestrian world.

So when the Seattle Times created the forums on their website, Joan approached them about a horse forum. The response was, sure – if you build it, and not on company time, please. Joan already knew about being a volunteer – she is a key player at Friends of Lord Hill, an organization of volunteers who created the trails we all use at the park and who continue to keep them maintained and safe so equestrians, bicyclists and hikers can enjoy them.

Building the forum itself took no time at all, but getting the word out to the people who would use the resource was much more strenuous than Joan anticipated. I smiled at that – I think that’s the dilemma we all face in the online world. I have several boards I visit regularly, often more as a lurker than a poster, each with their own focus – SAFE, Pedigree Query and the mother of all horse boards, Chronicle of the Horse.

So why do I need a new one? Well, as hard as I try to stay on top of the enormous variety of events and issues in our area, it is way more than a one-person job. The Northwest Horse Forum has become a “must-post” destination for local events. It’s also a place for the news that doesn’t make it to the mainstream. Joan and I talked about the barn that recently burned down at Lord Hill. Because it wasn’t ecoterrorism, likely just carelessness or mindless vandalism, the forum was the only place I saw the news.

If you only see your farrier and your vet infrequently, how else are you going to find out this stuff? The Northwest Horse forum isn’t focused on a particular discipline, but on areas where we all have common ground – arena footing, winter paddocks, behavioral issues and horse care in our wet climate have proved enduring topics.

Joan said the board really got going during the rough weather last winter – both because people were stuck inside and because they were under stress and confronting unusual situations like flooding and extreme snowfall and cold. Sharing tips was valuable – perhaps critical, if you got your horse to drink enough water by adding salt, or you got your shelter roof shoveled off before it collapsed. In extreme times, an online community can provide vital support. That’s a justification for the time we spend chatting about less critical matters!

Anyway, whatever the critical factor is, it seems to be working. “I’ve heard you get turnover on boards – it seems like people are sticking with us,” Joan said.

Some local professionals are also on board, including Dr. Kelli Taylor . She joined Dr. Hannah Evergreen on the equine side of the Evergreen Holistic Veterinary Clinic and has offered to answer any question we may have. Thanks to her I now know that the prevalence of tape worms in Western Washington is increasing – an extra incentive to remember to give Willy his Equimax today!

For someone who didn’t know much about online communities when she started this one, Joan has mastered the learning curve quickly. There’s quite a few other familiar “faces” who have joined in, from Tracey Westbury and Jamie Thomas, both Extreme mustang trainers, to Jet Perrett of SAFE, but the board doesn’t belong to anyone except the people who use it. They are likely to be the same horse people you see at events around the area, so the atmosphere is friendly and there’s an ongoing incentive to be civil!

The board is functional too – it’s photo-enabled and has a section for posting shows, clinics and other events.

Here’s something for your calendar that I saw on the forum: the Hollywood Hills Saddle Club is having the official opening of the Hollywood Hill Equestrian Park on October 11th with a Prize Trail Ride.

That’s the arena that they have maintained for 30 years at 15205 NE 172nd St, Woodinville and includes 250′ x 115′ show arena, 155′ x 72′ warm up arena, 54′ round pen, permanent trail course, announcer’s booth, cook shack, mounting blocks, and onsite trailer parking, as well as access to the Hollywood Hills trail system.

Like Bridle Trails, Farril McWhirter and the Kathryn Taylor Equestrian Park, this creates another public arena, and one that is already event-friendly. Like Lord Hill, its amenities have been built over the years by volunteers who will continue to help maintain the park now that it has become part of the King County Parks System. As budgets nosedive, community service is becoming a practical necessity to maintain our equestrian options – at least Hollywood Hills already has that tradition.

I wish I could ride in this event, but I will be out of town that weekend, so someone please go and tell us all about it – on the forum, of course! Take pictures too. Before you know it, you too will be a citizen journalist…

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.